Interviewee: Ed and Keir
Year: 2009
Website: nephwrack.com
MySpace: myspace.com/nephwrackband
Label: None
Featured on: Loucifer Speaks Exclusive... So far!
Nephwrack were recently crowned the Loucifer Speaks Band of the Year 2008 and that gave me the perfect excuse to send a few questions their way...
Lou: Hi guys, thanks for taking the time out to answer my questions. How are you all today?
Ed: Basically fine, thank you
Keir: Hello... all is well thanks
Lou: You've recently been announced as being the Loucifer Speaks Band of the Year 2008, how does it feel? (I know there are bigger honours out there, but hey - humour me!)
Ed: Marvellous! The patrons of Loucifer Speaks are proper metal fans and know what they're talking about so yeah, it means a lot. Cheers!
Keir: We're all really chuffed about it, its great to be recognised by people who actually give a fuck about proper music!
Lou: It's been a while since I last interviewed you (in fact, I think the last time was when I was still doing the "ARSE!" zine!) and quite a few line-up changes have occured since then... So, who is in the band at the moment?
Ed: We have:
Dilian Arnaudov - vocals
Ed Simmonds - lead guitar
Paul May - lead guitar
Keir Cleland - bass
Andy K - drums
Lou: Is this, as far as you're concerned, a permanent line-up?
Keir: I think it will be, at least none of us are insane this time round.
Ed: If it's not, I'm giving up music! Yeah everyone's on the same page & very excited about the forthcoming album so I see no reason why not.
Lou: Dilian is a great addition to the band! How did he come to be a part of Nephwrack?
Ed: He was advertising on the web for a band, having recently moved to London from Bulgaria for the cause of Metal. We listened some tracks he'd posted of his previous band, and his voice was just out of this world. Like Bruce Dickinson in his prime, with a falsetto better than Rob Halford. They actually call him Bruce Halford now at the venue we play in Gravesend. So we thought, f*cking hell, imagine if we get this guy..... We sent him a message, a few days later he responded saying he loved our songs, he came down to rehearsal and blew us away.... And that was it. He's the singer our riffs have been waiting for!
Lou: What was the best thing to happen to you (as a band) in 2008?
Ed: Finally finding a line-up where everyone's on exactly the same page, and are all equally (prodigiously) talented.
Keir: Yeah, finding a great drummer, great singer and a great guitarist in (roughly) the same year was brilliant for us!
Lou: And what was the worst thing to happen in 2008?
Ed: Probably not gigging anywhere near as much as we should have. With all the line-up changes we couldn't put together a coherent tour. That's all changed for 09.
Lou: How was the "Fall of Empires" EP received by both existing and new fans?
Ed: It's a bit of an odd release as the songs were already issued, with a different singer. The reason we did it is that we know people were gagging to hear the songs sounding as good as they do live with Dilian. The response from current fans has been great - we've been grateful for the support. The biggest surprise was how many new fans it's gotten us - it's really opened us up to a whole new power metal kind of market. The next record will really capitalise on that.
Lou: Which song from the "Fall of Empires" EP proved to be the most popular?
Ed: Probably the title track for the singalong element, and By The Light cos Dilian really lets rip with his bilious lungs. That one always gets them going.
Keir: Leviathan always goes down a storm as well.
Lou: What's on the cards for Nephwrack in 2009? Do you have any new material for us? If so, what's it like?
Ed: We're recording a new full-length album in the summer, and have already played a couple of songs from it live. Compared to the last album, it's a lot more adventurous. Certainly more technical and progressive, with much bigger singalong choruses too. More solos, more twin guitar leads, more gallops, and as many harmonised falsetto screams as good taste will allow. And a few more as well, just to be safe. We've spent much longer crafting the songs too, which range from 3-minute gallopers to 10-minute epics. Basically, it's just more METAL!
Keir: Well said Ted, Writing for this album has been much easier for us than the last one. We've got a lot more freedom to write what comes naturally to us which is liberating... and sexy.
Lou: Do you have any big tours or festivals coming up?
Ed: We're about to announce some national dates for May & June, we're playing with Blaze Bayley on one or two of them, which is a pretty big deal for big fans of his as we are. No festivals booked at the mo, but that doesn't mean to say there won't be... Watch this space!
Lou: When's the next London show? Can I film a bit of it, then drink a few *ahem* bevvies and then headbang like a loon?
Ed: Going to have to say "Dunno yet" unfortunately, we have no London date booked on the tour - but you'll be the first to know when we do.
Keir: We will do our best to get some London shows, any venues you could recommend?
Lou: So, hypothetical question - let's say you were all selected to go on a mission to Mars... Which albums would you take with you and why? You're allowed 5 each... otherwise I can see this getting out of hand!
Ed: Haha!
Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao - I could never get tired of the incredible atmosphere of it. Basically it's the pinnacle of what humanity has achieved so far, in any field. Surely that's indisputable.
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell - Every single song awesome, plus the best guitar playing the world has ever seen.
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - What Metal Should Sound Like.
Genesis - Selling England By the Pound - The Battle of Epping Forest, Firth of Fifth, The Cinema Show, that's how you write f*cking songs.
Dream Evil - United - It's just marvellous isn't it, clearly.
And one more - Metal Church - The Human Factor (couldn't keep it to just 5, I must go one louder).
Bollocks, Opeth - Blackwater Park as well.
Keir: Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery. Its like Mr Bungle... thats a good enough reason isn't it?
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother . My favourite Floyd album, along with all the other ones, it was quite cruel of you to make me choose!
Jethro Tull - Benefit. Simply brilliant, not heavy by any stretch of the imagination but so good it doesn't matter.
Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao. What Ed said! i can't explain how mind altering this album is... buy it.
Iron Maiden - Seventh son of a Seventh Son - I have to go with Ed on this one again, it's "proper".
Lou: Which non-Nephwrack related albums are you looking forward to this year?
Ed: We're not exactly what you'd call up on the current metal scene. Maiden are due to release one I think! Darkthrone pump out about one a year, that's always good. Actually I've been dying to hear Terrathorn's record for months now!
Keir: Errr... are Slayer doing a new album this year?
Lou: Are there any up-and-coming bands that you could recommend to the readers of Loucifer Speaks?
Ed: I'd say our great mates Terrathorn and Cursed As Angels, plus an utterly stupendous US death-cum-black metal band called Dying Messiah, they're really blowing my skirt up at the moment.
Keir: I'm liking Middenhelm at the moment
Lou: Which famous song do you wish you'd written?
Ed: Amused To Death by Roger Waters.
Keir: Hey You - Pink Floyd
Lou: Are there any bands/musicians that you'd like to collaborate with in the future?
Ed: To be honest I'm so happy with our current line-up that such thoughts no longer cross my mind! In fantasy land, Attila Csihar, if he would lower himself to the level of a mortal such as I.
Keir: I would be here all day making a list, i think teaming up with Dream Evil would be cool
Lou: Oh, before I forget, is it ok to use one of your songs on the next Loucifer Speaks podcast? If so, which one?
Ed: All of them! The more people that hear our Heavy Metal message the better. I'd say By The Light though.
Lou: Any final thoughts? (Feel free to plug merch, tour dates, etc here!)
Ed: Buy our EP Fall Of Empires or I'll kill your dog or child, whichever is weaker.
Keir: and keep it metal!